Malawi’s main grain marketer, the Agriculture Development Marketing Corporation (Admarc), has reiterated its earlier sentiments that Malawians should not be worried about hunger in the country as there is enough grain in its stock to take the nation to the next harvest season.
Admarc’s Chief Executive Officer, Foster Mulumbe, said in an exclusive interview with The Daily Times that out of the 55,000 metric tonnes of maize that was procured by the organisation, only 26,000 metric tonnes has been sold so far since September 2015 when it opened its market.
Mulumbe then said the 29,000 metric tonnes left in its stock is enough to take the nation to the next growing season.
“We opened our markets on September 11, which means it has taken us four months to this date, and out of the 55,000 metric tonnes, we have sold 26,000 metric tonnes and I am pretty sure that the remaining 29,000 metric tonnes will cover the remaining period,” said Mulumbe
The Admarc chief also backed the rationing programmes which it is implementing of selling a maximum of 20 kilogrammes per person, saying it is meant to curb abuse by commercial vendors.
Lately, the state-owned grain marketer has come under great criticism from the general public for introducing the rationing programme which, they said, is not sufficient to cover a family of an average of seven people.
Other observers said selling the 20 kilogrammes is a sign that Admarc is gradually running out of stock, a thing disputed by Mulumbe.
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